Leighton and the Middle East website: Empires and People
The Middle East and North Africa in Leighton’s time, 1830-1896
Frederic Leighton’s first trip to an Islamic country was to Algeria in 1857. He would later write
‘this visit made a deep impression on me. I have loved the East as it is called ever since’. Although
Leighton never specifically tells us what made him love ‘the East’, there are some hints in his letters
home to family members. He describes the diversity of the populations, the colours of the
landscapes and the climatic conditions of these distant countries.
However, it would be wrong to assume that Leighton’s trips were excursions to new alien
environments never before seen by an Englishman. The reality is that Leighton would have seen
much that was familiar to him as a westerner on these journeys. An excellent example is his
description of Algiers, capital city of Algeria – ‘the whole of the lower part of the town that runs
along the port has been so completely Europeanised that, but for a rather pretty mosque on the
waterside, you might fancy you were at Le Harve or any other French seaport town’. It is no
coincidence that Leighton should mention a ‘French seaport’ as Algeria had been invaded by
French forces in 1830 (the year of
Leighton’s birth). The year 1830 holds an
important place in modern history as for
many people it represents the beginning
of sustained European interest and
colonisation of much of North Africa and
the Middle East. Therefore, by the time of
Leighton’s arrival in Algeria in 1857, the
country had already been a colony of
France for twenty-seven years. Leighton
as a fluent French speaker would not have
encountered many obstacles on his arrival
and would have had the support of the
French colonial government.
Place de la Republique, Algiers in 1900 (photograph courtesy Archives
Charmet)
The Ottoman Empire
Although Algeria had become a colony of France in 1830, Leighton would have known that it once
was, and that most of North Africa and the Middle East still were, under the control of the Ottoman
Empire. The exception to this was Persia (modern day Iran), which was ruled by the Qajar dynasty
(1781-1925) with their capital at Tehran. The Ottomans were frequently at war with Persia over
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control of the Middle East. Morocco was also outside Ottoman control, being ruled by a family
called the Alaouite’s (1664-present). The Ottomans (Osmanlis in Turkish) were a powerful family
that emerged in Turkey in the 1300’s and by 1517 had conquered much of the Middle East and
North Africa. The Ottoman Empire lasted until 1918
when it collapsed after World War I.
The Ottoman capital city was Istanbul and the head of
this vast empire was known as the sultan (which
means ‘holder of power’). The ruling sultan during
most of Leighton’s lifetime was Abdul Hamid II
(1842-1918). Leighton visited Istanbul in 1867 and
would have known that in that same year Queen
Victoria received the first visit of an Ottoman Sultan
to Buckingham Palace. Such contacts between the
rulers of east and west were not new by this time. The
first Ottoman diplomatic mission to London took
place in 1793. By the end of the 1800’s the Ottomans
had embassies in most major European countries.
Similarily, European countries had embassies in
Istanbul.
Abdul Hamid II, Ottoman Sultan between 1876-1909
(courtesy Mary Evans Picture Library)
Holding the Empire together
With such a vast region of the world under Ottoman control, the main problem for the sultan and his
advisors was how to keep the various countries and their mix of peoples and religions living in
harmony and loyal to him. The Muslim Ottoman Empire was composed of various strands of
Islamic, Jewish, Christian and Persian beliefs. The way the Ottomans achieved a sense of harmony
amongst all this diversity was to allow each religious and ethnic group a degree of independence to
live according to their own customs and religions. This was called the ‘millet system’. However,
each group recognised the sultan as the supreme ruler and Islam as the first religion of the empire.
As part of this agreement non-Muslim groups within the empire were taxed at a higher rate than
their fellow Muslim citizens.
Running the Empire
Countries that were located near to Turkey such as Syria and what is now modern day Israel and
Palestine were ruled directly by the sultan. Their close proximity to Istanbul made this possible but
also the sultan wanted to be seen as the protector of Islam’s holy sites in that area.
However, it was impossible for the sultan to rule all of the Ottoman empire from Istanbul so he
appointed regional governors to do the job for him. Over time, these regional governors became
increasingly powerful. Although they proclaimed loyalty to the sultan, they were always keen to
protect their own interests. Some of the most powerful regional families of the nineteenth century
ruled in Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. On occasion these governors actually went to war against the
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Leighton House Museum, 12 Holland Park Road, London W14 8LZ
www.rbkc.gov.uk/leightonhousemuseum
© Leighton House Museum 2007
sultan in attempts to extend their power. The most famous example of this occurred in 1831 when
Muhammad Ali of Egypt rebelled against the Ottomans. His Egyptian forces invaded Syria and
were ready to attack Turkey and Istanbul itself before Russia came to the assistance of the sultan
and negotiated a peace deal.
For more information on European involvement in the Middle East in the nineteenth century please
see the article: Britain’s relationship with the Middle East in the 1800s.
!
Other articles in this section:
- Britain’s relationship with the Middle East in the 1800’s
- Daily Life in the Middle East in the 1800’s
- Attitudes to Race and Ethnicity in the British and Ottoman Empires
- Frederic Leighton’s views on race
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Leighton House Museum, 12 Holland Park Road, London W14 8LZ
www.rbkc.gov.uk/leightonhousemuseum
© Leighton House Museum 2007